


Before Everything Changes

by Nerua_Austellus



Category: Clamp Gakuen Tanteidan | Clamp School Detectives, X -エックス- | X/1999
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 11:31:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8622931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerua_Austellus/pseuds/Nerua_Austellus
Summary: It's New Year's Eve on CLAMP Campus, but not everybody feels like celebrating.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in the middle of the night while I was unable to sleep and as yet have not actually given it a read over. It's just a short simple little thing based on something I was thinking about. Still, I hope someone will enjoy it.

CLAMP School was infamous for its love of parties. All year round there was always something happening or some new event to look forward to. There was virtually never a point in time when the school wasn’t hosting or preparing to host something big. Indeed, the campus was almost as well-known for its partying as it was for its academic successes, if not a tad more so. True to its admirable reputation, even its parties were second-to-none, with organisers pulling out all the stops to ensure that each event was bigger and better than the last.

The same was true of the latest of these; the CLAMP School New Year Bash – the final event of the year.

The entire campus was lit up in celebration, the halls filled with music and the jovial sounds of laughter and merrymaking. Outside, the walkways and roads were lined with stalls and festival attractions, the air filled with the rich scents of various foods. Even the school’s clock tower was lit up, the comical yet endearing face of the school’s crest towering high in the sky and smiling cheerfully across the entire campus. Come midnight, the skyline would be filled with glitter and light. The fireworks display was anticipated to be quite the spectacle.

Truly, CLAMP School had outdone itself yet again and as Nokoru Imonoyama stood quietly by himself in one of the quieter, unused offices away from the festivities, watching the school’s brightly lit blimp pass overhead a small, deeply fond smile pulled at the corners of his lips. He hoped dearly that next year would be the same as this one. He really hoped that, from the bottom of his heart.

Lowering his gaze to look out over the street below, he took a small sip from the cup of punch he had procured for himself before making his way up here and sighed heavily. He wanted to enjoy this night, truly he did. He wanted everyone to really, really enjoy this party to their fullest – to end this year on such a high that it would be damn-near impossible to top it. He wanted that more so now than for any other event he’d ever had a hand in organising. This night was different. This _event_ was different…

A knock from the hallway startled him out of his thoughts and he shook himself, quickly plastering a charming smile across his face and turning to face the door. “Yes?” he called. “Come in!”

The door opened with a light click and a familiar head of sky-blue hair peered round it and Nokoru’s practiced smile softened into something more genuine at the sight. “Suoh,” he said warmly, adjusting his position on the windowsill and gesturing for the newcomer to join him.

Suoh looked a little exasperated but accepted the invitation, shutting the door with a click and taking up the free space opposite Nokoru. He observed his friend quietly for several moments, watching him gaze down fondly at the festivities taking place outside. “It’s not like you to sit out a party,” he said eventually, noticing the subtle way Nokoru’s expression tightened. “I searched across nearly the whole campus for you, thinking you’d be at one of the events. What are you doing holed up by yourself up here?”

He received nothing more than a playful smile and a teasing remark of “As expected, you’re as observant as ever, Suoh!” in response and as he watched Nokoru take a long sip from his cup of punch and continue to peer vaguely out the window he could sense his reluctance to pursue the topic. And if he knew anything about Nokoru Imonoyama by this point, he was certain he could predict what was probably coming next as a means of derailing the conversation.

“How is Nagisa-jo?”

Bingo. He honestly never changes…

Inhaling deeply, Suoh allowed himself to relax and turn his own gaze to peer out the window. “She’s probably performing her flute solo by now,” he answered quietly, internally cursing the fact that after all these years he still couldn’t fight the blush that rose to his cheeks at the mention of her name. “I would have liked to have stayed to watch but I was concerned about where you had disappeared off to. It’s getting close to midnight, you know.”

A soft laugh escaped Nokoru but when Suoh glanced at him he saw that while his face wore a smile, there was a deep sadness behind his eyes. He frowned. “Are you alright?”

To this Nokoru said nothing, though he did finally shift his gaze to meet Suoh’s. There was something oddly solemn about his gentle smile, the faintest crease at the corner of his eyes and the slightest tilt of his eyebrows. Something about it just looked… sad. Perhaps it was the glow from the lanterns below illuminating his face strangely but somehow Suoh doubted it to be just a trick of the light. “Kaichou…?”

The blond shut his eyes and let another soft laugh fall from his lips, slipping a handheld fan out of the pocket of his suit and spreading it open in front of his face. “Big things are coming, Suoh. Big changes,” he said, his eyes opening again as he shifted his gaze towards the sky, an oddly distant expression clouding his expression. “We’ve got a really big year ahead of us.”

“Is this about you becoming Chairman of CLAMP School next year? You’re not _nervous_ about that are you?”

And at that Nokoru genuinely laughed – a hearty, loud laugh that filled the quiet of the empty office and seemed to brighten up the otherwise dimly lit room.

Flipping the handheld fan closed again and propping it against his chin, he fixed his friend with a gaze so warm and fond that Suoh almost felt embarrassed to look directly at it. “It’s a little more than just that,” he said and then, before Suoh could question him further, he slipped off the windowsill and got to his feet, a child-like sparkle returning to his eyes again. “For now, though, I believe we both have some merrymaking to do! Where’s Ijyuin?”

“Probably with Ohkawa-kaichou but—Hey, wait a moment!” He reached out and grabbed Nokoru’s arm before he could depart towards the door. “Please, kaichou, I know you better than anyone and I can tell that something’s bothering you. Whatever it is please don’t keep it to yourself! You—”

He was cut off by the closed fan being placed gently across his lips to silence him. Nokoru’s eyes were closed and his head was turned slightly away but Suoh could tell that his smile had vanished and when he spoke he knew he wasn’t playing around anymore. “Tomorrow,” he said quietly, lowering the fan from Suoh’s lips. “I’ll tell both you and Akira about everything tomorrow, I promise. For now…” He paused, eyes sliding open and staring sadly at anywhere but his friend’s face. “For now I just want us all to have a good time and cheer in the New Year together.”

He turned his gaze at last to meet Suoh’s and the intensity of his stare was so unexpected it caught the latter off guard. Releasing hold of his arm, Suoh got to his feet with a sigh and accepted defeat for now. “Alright,” he said. “You’re right. Whatever it is can wait till morning.”

A flash of relief washed over Nokoru’s expression briefly and his shoulders relaxed, the fan in his hands unfolding again as he held it playfully in front of his face. He knew tomorrow was going to be a heavy day but that didn’t mean he was going to allow it to get in the way of tonight’s festivities. It wouldn’t do to make his friends worry about him. That was the absolute last thing he wanted to do…

“Do you think they’ll still have those croissants I like at the Duklyon Bakery? We should grab some on the way!”

Suoh groaned audibly in response. “That is in precisely the opposite direction from where we’re heading to, kaichou…” he said, exasperation quickly returning to him now that Nokoru was beginning to behave more like… well… _Nokoru._

“Oh, nonsense! There’s still time!” he said, waving the fan in his face to shush him before pausing to tap it against his chin thoughtfully. “Actually, how much time _do_ we have?”

“About fifteen minutes…” Suoh replied stiffly, and then, already predicting what would likely be asked of him, he added, “You go on ahead and join Ijyuin. It’ll be faster if I go alone.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Suoh!” Nokoru exclaimed, a cheerful, teasing chirp to his voice and a bright radiant smile across his face.

Suoh only rolled his eyes and shook his head but could do nothing to disguise the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. It really was good to see him acting more like himself again.

As Nokoru watched him go he continued to smile after him, swinging the fan around in his hand as he made his way down the hallway at his own pace, whistling cheerfully. It really wouldn’t do to be down on a night like this. Big things surely lay ahead in the future ticking closer and closer with every second but now was not the time to think of such things. He would discuss those matters tomorrow when he relayed what he had known for some time to his two closest friends in the world and begin to set things in motion for the year ahead.

For now though, he thought as he saw Akira Ijyuin come into view with a sparkling smile upon his face and a tray of delicious-looking pastries in his hands, it would be nice if time could slow down just a little bit, to keep these precious moments preserved for as long as possible.

1999 could wait.


End file.
